Sarina Bratton Appointed to Head Local Australasian Operations for Compagnie du Ponant

Compagnie du Ponant is developng further into the Australian and Asian markets with the appointment of Australian luxury expedition cruise pioneer Sarina Bratton to head its local operations.

Bratton created market-leading five-star Orion Expedition Cruises a decade ago, and has been named Compagnie du Ponant's Australasian chairman and special advisor to the company's Marseilles-headquartered executive team. She sold her remaining shares in Orion earlier this year.

In her new role, Bratton will spearhead Compagnie du Ponant's international development, with a focus on the Asia Pacific region, as both key destinations and source markets.

Future plans for the company include the positioning of a new expedition ship in and around Australia from late 2015 for a program of itineraries featuring Australia, Asia and the Pacific islands. The company will also heavily promote accessibility to other global expedition destinations with its existing expedition sister ships L'Austral, Le Boréal and Le Soléal and its sailing ship Le Ponant.

For more information, visit en.ponant.com.